Are You Awake During LASIK Eye Surgery? Things You Need to Know
Table of Contents
Are You Awake During LASIK Eye Surgery?
Are You Awake During LASIK Eye Surgery?
Which Anesthesia is Used in LASIK Surgery?
Ground Behind Staying Awake During LASIK Eye Surgery?
Patient’s Cooperation Makes It More Efficient
What Happens If Someone Blinks or Moves Eyes During LASIK Surgery?
With increasing eye problems, LASIK surgery is becoming more common day by day. To get liberation from sight issues, people prefer to get LASER treatment, and LASIK is one of the most beneficial treatments for sight difficulties.
Most patients who want to get LASIK surgery are looking for the answer to the question, “Are you awake during LASIK eye surgery”. The simple answer is yes.
To get to know what LASIK surgery is and the basic reasons why you stay awake during LASIK surgery, continue reading this blog.
What is LASIK Eye Surgery?
LASIK stands for Laser-Assisted Situ Keratomileusis, is the most common treatment for eye-sightedness problems. This is a LASER refractive treatment that ensures the correctness of sight problems and is a great alternative to contact lenses and glasses.
With LASIK surgery, a laser is used to cut the tissue of the cornea in your eye and change its shape so that it can properly refract light on the retina. To treat this issue, the patients can also use glasses and contact lenses.
Note: A domed-shaped tissue called cornea, is present in front of the eye. Its function is to refract the light back to the retina, which creates an image. When the shape of the cornea changes, it does not refract light directly on the retina, which causes blurriness of sight and problems like shortsightedness and longsightedness.
Are You Awake During LASIK Eye Surgery?
Many people seek LASIK eye surgery as a solution to eliminate the need for glasses or contact lenses. However, a common concern arises when they hear that they will remain awake during the procedure, leading to anxiety and fears about feeling pain.
It is true that patients are awake during LASIK surgery, but this is not something to worry about. Being awake allows the patient to cooperate with the eye surgeon, which is essential for the success of the surgery. By staying awake and following the doctor’s instructions, the chances of a positive outcome increase significantly.
To alleviate discomfort, doctors apply numbing eye drops before the surgery begins. These drops ensure that patients do not feel pain during the procedure. Although you may experience slight pressure on the eye, it is typically mild and temporary.
Which Anesthesia is Used in LASIK Surgery?
In LASIK surgery, doctors use local anesthesia to numb your eyes. They apply special numbing eye drops before starting the procedure. This keeps you awake during the surgery, but you will not feel any pain. You may only notice a bit of pressure on your eyes, but it will not hurt.
Unlike general anesthesia, which makes you sleep, local anesthesia is safe and easy for this type of surgery. It helps the doctor check your vision during the procedure. Plus, it allows you to recover faster because there are no strong sedatives involved. Most people feel fine afterward, with only a little discomfort that quickly goes away.
Ground Behind Staying Awake During LASIK Eye Surgery?
Because keeping the patients awake during the LASIK is important, let us discuss in detail why it is necessary to keep the patient awake during the surgery.
Less Time-Consuming Surgery
LASIK is a short and fast surgery and takes only 20 minutes. The laser itself takes only 30 seconds to reshape the cornea. As mentioned earlier, local anesthesia is used, which helps save time by keeping the patient conscious. This allows the procedure to be performed efficiently and quickly.
Relatively Painless
Doctors use local anesthesia in the form of numbing drops that deactivate the pain nerve in the eyes and make the surgery painless. As these pain relievers are enough for this short surgery, surgeons do not need to make patients unconscious.
Patient’s Cooperation Makes It More Efficient
During LASIK surgery, patients need to focus on a green blinking light to keep the cornea in the same position. This will help the surgeon perform the surgery properly.
No doubt, eye holders can be used to open the eye, but to move the cornea to the right position and then keep it there, the patient’s cooperation is required. This will help to make the surgery more effective and increase the chances of desired outcomes.
Accelerate Recovery
One of the main reasons to stay awake during LASIK surgery is the quick recovery. The medicines used to numb your eyes will continue working and help in recovery. Patients who stay awake during and after the surgery get well soon and can start looking at their laptop or mobile screen after two to three days.
No Need to Stay in Hospital
There is no need to stay in the hospital after LASIK surgery. If you are awake and alert, you can go home right after the procedure to heal comfortably in your own environment. However, in rare cases where a patient may become unconscious or experience unexpected complications, they may need to stay under observation for a short period before being allowed to leave. Normally, most patients recover quickly without needing extended medical supervision.
What Happens If Someone Blinks or Moves Eyes During LASIK Surgery?
Blinking of the eyes is a natural process. But during LASIK, it is important to keep your eyes open to avoid any inconvenience. Local anesthesia will reduce the blinking signals and help to keep your eye open. Furthermore, doctors use eyelid holders to ensure they stop blinking. All these precautions make sure the patient will not blink their eyes during the treatment.
Sometimes, patients move their eyes very fast, which can also interrupt the surgery. For this problem, built-in safety is used. With a little movement, the LASER also moves with the cornea. But if you move your eye at a wider angle, the LASER will shut automatically.
Precautions to Take After LASIK Surgery
After LASIK surgery, you will feel blurriness, itchy, and watery eyes. But if you are feeling pain, then you should consult your doctor immediately. Here are some precautions you need to keep in mind after LASIK:
- Doctors suggest drops to their patients to speed up the recovery process. To stop scratching, use eye covers while sleeping and follow a complete eye care routine.
- Try to avoid sports and activities that include physical touch, like martial arts and swimming.
- Patients will recover from 4 to 24 hours after the surgery, depending upon the severity of their problem. For a smooth recovery process, you need to go for continuous checkups after LASIK surgery.
Final Words
Conclusively, you are awake during Lasik surgery, and staying awake is crucial to make the procedure more effective. Patient cooperation and focus are also crucial factors in making this surgery more successful. However, there is no need to be afraid, as doctors make this surgery painless with using local anesthesia.
Now that you know the basic things that happen during LASIK, it is also crucial to choose a professional eyecare center to make your surgery successful. CEDAR PARK VISION offers trustworthy and reliable services for LASIK surgery. You can consider us for your eye treatment as our optometrist has years of experience and exposure in optometry.
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